{"id":82165,"date":"2020-10-27T00:33:25","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T22:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=82165"},"modified":"2020-10-27T00:33:25","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T22:33:25","slug":"a-tale-of-faith-lost-and-regained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-tale-of-faith-lost-and-regained\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tale Of Faith Lost And Regained"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"82165","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":64758,"related_cahpter":"598","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"The \u201cones who wait for God\" acquire a deeper understanding\u00a0\r\n\r\n","content":"

Psalm 31 is the story of the psalmist’s faith that was lost, renewed, and transformed into a more sophisticated one.<\/span><\/p>\n

The psalm’s storyline is divided into three parts. The first part of the psalm (eight verses and sixty three words) explains the incredible faith, bordering on the absurd, that the psalmist had in God at first: “I seek refuge in You, God, and I never will be disappointed; in your righteousness you will rescue me” (verse 2); “Into Your hand I entrust my spirit; You redeem me, God, god of truth”(verse 6).\u00a0 Note that at this time the psalmist’s faith was based on his feelings of entitlement for God’s salvation.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This faith does not last. The next five verses of the psalm describe the psalmist’s sorrow, which approaches despair: “Have mercy on me, God, for I am in distress; my eyes are wasted by vexation, my substance and body too” (verse 10) ; “I hear the whisperings of many, intrigue on every side, as they scheme together against me, plotting to take my life” (verse 14). Note that God is only addressed in the first of these five verses. Slowly, hopelessness takes over the psalmist, while God is removed from his consciousness.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the third part of the psalm (eight verses and sixty two words), the psalmist rediscovers his faith. Note how now God’s salvation is not taken for granted and the psalmist expresses his appreciation of it:\u00a0 “Show favor to your servant; deliver me in your kindness” (verse 17); “Blessed is the LORD, for He has been wondrously kind to me, a fortified city” (verse 22).<\/span><\/p>\n

The psalmist then is able to reflect on what occurred to him. He realizes that he lost hope in God due to his mistaken expectations of God. He misinterpreted God not answering his prayers (immediately!) as a lack of care on God’s part. When God does answer his prayer said from desperation rather than entitlement (in verse 10), he realizes the difference of having true faith and being arrogant, like he was in the past.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The psalm finishes with encouragement: ” Be strong and of good courage, all you who wait for the LORD” (verse 25). The words “Be strong and of good courage” are usually reserved for leaders commencing a new era. When Joshua was selected to lead the people into the Land of Israel, God and Moshe encouraged him with these words (Deuteronomy chapter 31).\u00a0 Likewise, at the commencement of the Davidic dynasty, David uses these words to encourage Solomon (Chronicles 1, chapter 28).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In psalm 31, “the ones who wait for God” have acquired a new understanding of God.They learned that God can choose to acquiesce to our prayers, but isn’t compelled to do so. Now they no longer expect instant miracles, transferring them into leaders of their own destinies.\u00a0 This is a new era for them and adjusting to it will be a challenge. Therefore, the psalmist ends with the encouragement “Be strong and of good courage!”<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":56724,"id":56724,"title":"isam1-hands","filename":"isam1-hands.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-hands.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/prayer-from-the-female-heart\/isam1-hands\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam1-hands","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":56723,"date":"2019-06-03 12:36:08","modified":"2020-10-26 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